There’s a great chance to try kayaking for free at this year’s OK Classic Fishing Tournament in Swanage. While the tournament competitors are out on the water, a special demonstration day will be taking place where colourful recreational sit-on-tops will be on display and members of the public will also be able to get afloat and have a go.
No previous experience is necessary, safety equipment will be provided and participants will be fully supervised. There will also be plenty of free advice for anyone interested in getting started in the hugely popular sport of sit-on-top kayaking. The demonstration fleet will be based in Prince Albert Gardens, Swanage and launching will take place close by from the Monkey Beach.
Last year the colourful event attracted huge interest. Sit-on-top kayaks are very stable, offer fantastic value for money and the self-draining, open cockpit design makes them very safe.
The demonstration day has been specially organised because last year there was so much interest from the general public in the sit-on-tops being used by kayak fishermen taking part in the tournament. The OK Classic, which is sponsored by Johnson Outdoors UK and supported by AnglersAfloat, was held for the first time last year and was a highly successful and enjoyable event raising £500 for the RNLI. The competition is open to all amateur kayak fishermen who would like to take part. This is a catch and release competition with competitors trying to catch as many different species as possible during an allotted time period on the day of the tournament. Last year 43 competitors took to the water and a total of 17 different fish species were caught.
This year, as Ocean Kayak celebrates its 40th birthday, the event plans to be even bigger and better with the main prizes alone worth nearly £2,000. There are three fantastic fishing kayaks to be won; the first prize is a Prowler Trident 13 Angler, second prize is a Prowler Trident 11 Angler and third prize is a Caper Angler. All competition entrants must be 18 or over and full entry details and the rules are available from the Johnson Outdoors UK website – www.johnsonoutdoors.co.uk – where entrants can also download the necessary competition forms.
